Romans 8.10a-The Christian Is Indwelt By Christ
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Tuesday November 4, 2008
Romans: Romans 8:10a-The Christian Is Indwelt By Christ
Lesson # 251
Please turn in your Bibles to Romans 8:1.
This evening we will note the protasis of a first class condition in Romans 8:10 that teaches that the Christian is indwelt by Christ.
Tomorrow we will complete the verse by noting the apodasis, which teaches that on one hand, the Christian’s body is dead due to the sin nature but on the other hand, the Spirit is life and peace in the Christian because of imputed righteousness.
Romans 8:1-10, “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness.”
“But” is the “adversative” use of the conjunction de (deV) (deh), which introduces a statement that presents a contrast with Paul’s previous statement in Romans 8:9b that teaches that if anyone does not possess at all the Spirit proceeding from Christ then this person, by no means belongs to Christ.
His statement in Romans 8:10a presents the contrast to the idea of not belonging to Christ, which is being in indwelt by Christ.
“If” is the conditional particle ei (ei)) (i), which introduces a protasis of a first class condition that indicates the assumption of truth for the sake of argument.
As we noted many times in our study of the book of Romans, the idea behind the first class condition is not “since” but rather, “if-and let us assume for the sake of argument, then...”
This would encourage Paul’s audience to respond and come to the conclusion of the apodosis since they already agreed with him on the protasis.
Therefore, Paul is employing the first class condition as a tool of persuasion with his audience.
Here the protasis is “if and let assume that it is true for the sake argument Christ is in you.”
The apodasis is “(then) on the one hand, the body is dead because of the sin nature while on the other hand, the Spirit is life in you because of righteousness.”
The basic relation that the protasis has to the apodasis is “evidence-inference.”
The “evidence” is that the Christian is indwelt by Christ Himself.
The “inference” is that while on the one hand, the Christian’s body is dead due to the sin nature on the other hand the Spirit is life in the Christian because of imputed righteousness.
He is not attempting to prove that his protasis is true rather he is saying with the first class condition that we agree that this doctrine is true that we are indwelt by Christ, which obviously means that the Spirit indwells us as well giving us life.
The first class condition would then persuade them to respond to the conclusion found in the apodasis that on the one hand the body is dead due to the sin nature but on the other hand, the Spirit is life in you because of imputed righteousness.
Therefore, Paul’s audience would have to come to his conclusion if they submit to this line of argumentation.
He wants them to come to his line of argumentation because he is teaching them about experiencing sanctification.
Therefore, it is essential that they agree with him on this point since it will help them to experience sanctification.
Romans 8:10, “If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness.”
“Christ” is the proper name Christos (xristov$), which is a technical word designating the humanity of our Lord as the promised Savior for all mankind who is unique as the incarnate Son of God and totally and completely guided and empowered by the Spirit as the Servant of the Father.
“In you” indicates that like the Holy Spirit, Christ indwells the body of every Christian in Rome.
All three members of the Trinity dwell in the Christian and specifically in their souls and so in a sense because the soul is in the body, the Trinity indwells the body of every Christian.
However, when the Christian dies physically, the Trinity still indwells the Christian because the Trinity actually dwells in the soul of every Christian and not in the Christian’s physical body.
Therefore, we can see from the protasis that appears in Romans 8:10 that Paul is teaching the Christians in Rome that they are indwelt by not only the Spirit but Jesus Christ Himself.
A comparison of Romans 8:9 with 8:10 reveals that the indwelling of the Spirit and the indwelling of Christ are inseparable in that if a person is indwelt by the Spirit, he or she will also be indwelt by Christ as well.
The Spirit’s omnipotence not only placed the Christian in union with Christ and identified the Christian with Christ in His death and resurrection but He also conforms the Christian into the image of Christ.
Paul’s thought in Romans 8:9-10 is that Christ indwells the Christian because the Spirit indwells the Christian since he taught in Romans 8:9 that the Spirit, which proceeded from Christ indwells the Christian.
Therefore, if the Spirit indwells the Christian who was sent by Christ to do so, then it follows logically that Christ indwells the Christian as well.
Though the indwelling of the Spirit and the indwelling of Christ are inseparable, they are distinguishable meaning that they are two distinct personalities of the Trinity that indwell the soul of the Christian.
The indwelling presence of Christ in the Christian and the indwelling presence of the Spirit are only identical in that they both indwell the Christian but their “personalities” are distinct from each other.
So both the Spirit and Christ and the Father indwell the church “corporately” and in each “individual” Christian.
The indwelling presence of the Spirit and Christ in the Christian is the evidence of the Christian’s justification.
It is also proof of the Christian’s salvation and of his position in Christ and identification with Christ in His death and resurrection.
The indwelling of the Spirit and Christ are totally unique to the church age since they have never taken place prior to the church age.
In fact, Paul calls the indwelling of Christ a “mystery” in Colossians 1:27 meaning that it was not known to Old Testament saints but is unique to the church age.
The indwelling of the Spirit and Christ serves as a sign that the Christian is a child of God.
The indwelling of the Spirit and Christ serve as assurance for the Christian that he or she is eternally secure.
It also serves as encouragement to the Christian when he or she endures underserved suffering.
The indwelling of the Spirit and Christ serves also as motivation for the Christian to grow to spiritual maturity.
It is the basis for the Christian to give number one priority to his relationship with God rather giving it to people.
The indwelling of the Spirit and Christ serves as a reminder to the Christian that he has divine omnipotence available to him to grow to maturity and to endure undeserved suffering.
It is also a guarantee that the Christian possesses eternal life and will live with God forever.
The indwelling of the Spirit and Christ serves as a guarantee that the Christian will receive a resurrection body.
The indwelling of God the Holy Spirit and Christ provides a base of operations for the use of divine omnipotence.
The Christian executes the Father’s plan for the church age believer by appropriating by faith the divine omnipotence made available through the indwelling of Christ and the Spirit.
The indwelling of Christ and the Spirit signifies the close intimate union that the Christian has with both the Spirit and Christ and in addition that both are working in the Christian’s life.
The first time that the Lord Jesus Christ taught His disciples that they would be indwelt by Him was in His Upper Room Discourse recorded in John 14:20 and 17:23 and 26.
John 14:19-20, “After a little while the world will no longer see Me, but you will see Me; because I live, you will live also. In that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.”
Paul mentions the indwelling of Christ in 2 Corinthians 13:5.
The indwelling of Christ is presented from three perspectives: (1) Positional (2) Experiential (3) Ultimate.
First of all, the Christian is indwelt by Christ in a “positional” sense meaning that it is an eternal spiritual truth and objective fact of bible doctrine that the Christian is indwelt by Christ.
Secondly, the indwelling of Christ is to be “experiential” in the sense that God desires that the Christian “experience” the indwelling of Christ and this is accomplished by faith in the Word of God.
Lastly, the indwelling of Christ is viewed in an “ultimate” sense in that Christ will indwell the Christian’s resurrection body forever throughout eternity.
In Colossians 1:27, Paul speaks of the indwelling of Christ in a “positional” and “ultimate” sense.
Colossians 1:24-27, “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I do my share on behalf of His body, which is the church, in filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions. Of this church I was made a minister according to the stewardship from God bestowed on me for your benefit, so that I might fully carry out the preaching of the word of God, that is, the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations, but has now been manifested to His saints, to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”
He also speaks of Christ indwelling him in an “experiential” sense in Galatians 2:20.
Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.”
